Baymule's 2020 Feeder Pigs!

[ChickenMomma]

We got 3 guinea hogs early this spring that we were planning to get processed this fall. They are huge already. The processor we were going to went out of business last week, or stopped taking orders rather. The others around here are booked until late next year. Not a great time to get into this business we are finding out, with a steer coming within the next month that we will have to winter. We have a distant uncle that has raised pigs for years and does his own processing. We may need to take a trip to see him but I really, really don’t want to do that!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Alot of butcher/processors have stop taking live stock near us. One is over priced and is booked till next year, one has plenty of opening the other has us booked for November. We have two that need to grow some.

 

[OneFineAcre]

It must be a whole lot easier to get hogs slaughtered there than it is here. Slaughter facilities are booking out a YEAR in advance. Since the Covid pandemic, suddenly everyone wants to be a farmer. I booked these two for slaughter back in February, when we got them. Darn good thing that I did! I usually book a date for lambs when they are born, 6 months later. That won't work this year, or the next. How do I set a slaughter date on lambs that not only are not born yet, but are not even conceived? We bought a steer that is still on pasture and will be delivered now that the pigs will be gone. I booked a March date in 2021 for him, in March of this year! It is CRAZY!

Oh, we booked the appointment at least 4 months ago. Another house is 6 months for hogs.
Beef you have to book a year out here. We have an appointment for next year on one of those. .

 

[Mini Horses]

. The processor we were going to went out of business last week, or stopped taking orders rather. The others around here are booked until late next year.

Ask for reference to another. Ask for any cancellations, to fill with yours. Call your Ag Deptmt for lists of processors. Even check in WV...may be one close in that state?

How far is "uncle"? He's sounding better.

 

[ChickenMomma]

great suggestions @Mini Horses. We were excited about this one because they kill and butcher on site, a nice thought to drop off live pigs and pick up packs of sausage and pork chops. The others around here you have to kill and bring semi-quartered. We will check in WV and maybe even NC.

"Uncle" is not far, but is very peculiar, I dont even know if he is an option, just know what we have gotten sausage from him before and its really good.

 

[Baymule]

@ChickenMomma it's not that hard to butcher your own pigs. In 2017, we did our own. Here is a link to the posts about slaughtering our own pigs.

Feeder Pigs 2017

I raised mine with pasture, excess veggies, bought feed. Then to butcher for a "kill & chill" @ $50 per head. They were killed, washed, dehaired, gutted and hanging when I went to get them. I had them cut off the head, feet, cut into halves, then those into 3rds at back of shoulder, front...

www.backyardherds.com

We now have a pig customer that buys one from us every year. Paying customers can be a little more..... not exactly demanding, but wanting better cuts than a farmyard slaughter party. LOL LOL

Read through my slaughtering experiences and if you have any questions, I will be glad to help you any way I can. Nothing beats the feeling of putting meat in the freezer.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I butcher several pigs a year myself. I have plenty of pigs so I don't mind doing them at a size that's easier for me to handle. I wouldn't love doing a 300lb+ pig by myself but the process is the same no matter the size. It's really not that hard....it's more the fear of doing it than actually doing it. The last couple that I did only took an hour from first skinning cut to tossing the last chunk in the cooler. That's not a record by any means, lol, but I'm getting faster every time.

DH (usually) shoots it then I take over. I skin it, part it out and put it on ice for a up to a week. Then I cut it up into boneless portions, vacuum pack and freeze. Helps to have a tractor to haul it in and hang it from, a sawzall to remove the head and feet and a couple nice, big, coolers.

 

[Baymule]

It ain't brain surgery. It's hog surgery, it don't feel a thing!

 

[ChickenMomma]

LOL. My hubby is an avid hunter and we process several deer every fall between him and my son, he can butcher a deer with his eyes closed so it wouldn’t be a total novice concept but 200 pound pigs are just so.....different lol.
The paying customer would be a different story,
I burst out laughing at the barnyard slaughter party @Baymule !!

 

[Baymule]

LOL. My hubby is an avid hunter and we process several deer every fall between him and my son, he can butcher a deer with his eyes closed so it wouldn’t be a total novice concept but 200 pound pigs are just so.....different lol.
The paying customer would be a different story,
I burst out laughing at the barnyard slaughter party @Baymule !!

If your husband is that good at dressing out a deer, y’all got this. Plus you have me and @frustratedearthmother to walk you through it. The easy part is the actual slaughter, quartering and packing on ice. I left the ice chest on our Kawasaki mule, draining out the water and adding more ice. DH drove the mule to the door, I took out the hunks I wanted, them he took it back to a shady spot. Don’t be intimidated just because the pig is bigger than a deer. Same principles apply, you can do this.